


Stars of Drump: The Five Odysseys

by supersquid



Series: Stars of Drump [1]
Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-17
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-03-01 02:31:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13285056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supersquid/pseuds/supersquid
Summary: A looming empire is ruining the balance between peace and war of the universe.Luckily, brewing in the background, five heroes of powers unbeknownst to even them are rising up to the task of destroying the evil once and for all.They call themselves the Grumps.





	1. Victory

Passing the planet BLUPL, the beautiful, icy planet that shone clear cerulean from up there, had the whole crew pressing their faces against the shuttle’s window. The four had just been through a lot, but the breathtaking view almost made up for the trauma. Their victory on the cold planet had been bittersweet, losing a valuable ally, General Jon Tron, to the Spinnakers. He had fought bravely and sacrificed his life for the greater good. The emperor who had been in control of the six planets under a particularly threatening branch of the Drump Allegiance, Arinhansen, had been captured by the victorious crew, and was now sitting, jailed, at the back of the ship. As it should be.

 

The Drump Alliance had started as an effort to unite all the planets to create a universal government system, easing tensions between planets everywhere, but as it grew and grew astronomically, it suddenly became hauntingly clear to planets who had yet to join the Allegiance that the people in charge were power-hungry, conflict-thirsty elitist assholes who wanted nothing more than control. They began enslaving the peaceful people under their rule and only appointing ruthless killers as generals and military leaders. They wanted the universe in the palm of their hand. Just a decade ago, something finally snapped universally. Planets began revolting and liberating themselves. As always, tragically, the Allegiance was ready. They took all guns off safety and threw every galaxy into war. From this, amazingly, hope only bloomed more and more. Thus, the era of The Great Revolution blossomed into reality.

 

The Grumps, mascots of the Rebellion, were a group of four crime-fighting space rangers, who patrolled the universe in search of villains to eradicate and good people to save. They were a team that had earned countless medals and achieved hero status in the eye of hundreds of planets.

 

There was Ross, the unofficial leader, who made all the decisions about where the crew was going next or which mission they embarked on. He was human, but he was from the planet Austra, not Earth. He studied the history and strategies of the Drump Allegiance from a young age alongside his beautiful girlfriend, Holly, and when he was old enough to acquire a shuttling license, he decided he wanted to dedicate his life to making the bad people of the universe feel the pain they’ve inflicted on others. Holly helped him out at first, but she was later drafted as a commander for the Austran army. One day, he had terrible news waiting for him when he finally returned to his home in Austra—Holly had died at the hands of an Allegiance troop, courageously igniting a bomb with her dying breaths and destroying the last Drump camp on Earth, freeing the humans’ home turf from their threat entirely. At the sorrowful news that Commander Holly was dead, Ross’s mind was made up. He would never stop fighting the Allegiance until every last one tasted the sweet poison of revenge. It was Ross who flew alone from planet to planet, making speeches and inspiring the hope of change in civilians’ hearts. He started The Great Revolution, some say. He met the other crew members during his journeys, starting with the formidable Barry Kramer.

 

Barry Kramer was born destined to be in the human army, just as his father and his father’s father and his father’s father’s father had been. He took on the role, even though he only partially thought that that’s what he wanted to do in life. Barry was the quieter type, he lived as an easy-going man and he let other people dictate how his life went. If his dad wanted him to be in the military, he was. If a girlfriend wanted him to shave his beard, he did. If an old friend wanted him to join a vigilante group where they beat up evil for a living, he did. Ross and General Kramer had met when they were teenagers, Ross had taken a trip to visit Earth and learn more about the Allegiance’s influence on humans, and Barry was appointed as a sort of earthly tour guide for the student. They became very close over the weeks Ross was on Earth, and they stayed in contact after he left once more, but it just wasn’t the same without seeing each other in person. They grew further apart until one day when Ross spontaneously showed up on Earth and begged Barry to join his cause. Little did Ross know, but only a month prior, Barry had lost an eye as a casualty from a conflict against Allegiance troops trying to set up camps on Earth. He had been shot in the head but survived, losing only his eye, which he was grateful for since. But still, losing a body part so crucial is detrimental—he had to leave the army and sat uselessly unemployed and miserable for a month, with an eyepatch and a vision of lost glory. Suddenly, Ross sauntered back into his life and finally Barry knew he found his purpose. They were inseparable ever since.

 

Suzy was third. Silent and deadly, she was expertly trained in the art of stealth and blades. She was a spy for a small colony of her species, Star Elves, before she discovered her deceased mother was human and decided she wanted to integrate herself into human life. Her elf and human mix made her ethereally beautiful to humans but downright ugly to elves, so it was an understandable choice. She had always been intrigued by humans, admiring them from afar, so amazed by their ability to be a powerful force without any powers. She loved them, unlike the rest of her race. No Elf _liked_ humans, it was unheard of. Elves knew they were better than humans—more beautiful, more rational, more regal, more skillful, yet humans were in control of so much of this universe. Suzy didn’t feel the jealousy, their success inspired her. So she left her colony and went to explore earth, where she hired a tour guide for the planet, an ex-general named Barry who was called off duty because of an injury. She and the veteran became close friends during her time there, and they shared stories about being involved in their respective militaries. Barry missed it deeply, but Suzy was happy to be gone. She mentioned how she’d consider returning if the fighting was for peace, not relevance. A long while after she had left Earth and was trying to find a lifestyle that would sidetrack her from returning to her own colony, she received a message from Barry saying that he had someone she may want to meet. Suzy adored Ross’s cause instantly and agreed to help without hesitation. To make sure her fellow Elves didn’t see her like this, working with their rivals, she wore masquerade masks to all battles and went by the code name Mortemer. Only her close crewmates called her Suzy.

 

Danny Avidan was last. The poor earthbound man craved peace in the universe above everything else. He was a regular guy, living his human life, a great feeling of helplessness blanketing everything he did. The war going on outside his planet felt so detached, then he’d look outside and see a hovering shuttle filled with soldiers pass by his street and it would all be real again. One day, Danny got a knock on his door. There was a lovely woman standing in his doorway and asking if there was a Dan Avidan in his house. Worried but far more curious, Danny assured her that’s who he was. She went on to explain that she needed to talk about Danny’s mom with him, which was a shocking statement just on its own, but coming from a strange girl who barely looked human… what a concept. Danny’s mother had always been a touchy subject in his family. He didn’t care that much, himself, but the rest of his family were uneasy at the mention of her name. She left Danny’s jerk of a father and ran off into the stars the day Dan moved out, pursuing some dream she obviously had that involved another world. He had loved his mother, and even when she fled, he only admired her persistence instead of being mad that she left him. He always thought about her when his life got hard, thinking about how she achieved a better life, and he could too. The girl recounted the story almost perfectly, from Danny’s mother being unhappy unless she was with her son and the stars, to a part that he didn’t know about, that she fell in love with a Star Elf and left to be with him. She then extended her hand and said, “Nice to meet you, brother.” From there, it was amazingly easy to convince Danny to follow in his mother’s footsteps and explore the cosmos. Earth was safe enough, but dreams aren’t realized here.

 

The four were the best of friends. Ross was the leader and pilot, Barry was the main fighting grunt and mechanic, Suzy was the stealthy scout and genius, and Danny was the team’s heart and cheerleader.

 

The day they captured Arinhansen was ended by a joyride around the newly liberated galaxy, watching the people’s cheers through telescopes and bathing in the happiness they brought. The ship was called Steam Ship, as named by Danny. When he was accepted on board, he was shocked that Ross hadn’t named the stellar shuttle, so he did it himself. It was a smooth-riding chrome mantaray-styled ship, the only of its kind. Quite the vintage model. Ross always had dozens of random collectors asking to take it off his hands. It was decked out with rooms for all four members and a main control room at the front, where it was driven and the crew met to discuss their next move everyday. There was an engine room downstairs, and finally, a single, heavy-duty cell where the dear emperor was currently being held.

 

“Good job, team.” Ross proclaimed, smiling at the view outside the window still, but addressing his crew.

 

“Yeah!” Danny chimed in, draping his long arms around Suzy and Barry, “You guys were _amazing!_ I’m sorry I couldn’t do more from up here, but I did shoot that one tower pretty well.”

 

“You’re just being modest, Danny.” Suzy chastised, laughingly removing his arm from her shoulders. “You timed the orbit perfectly. If you hadn’t been lined up with our escape pods like that, we would still be floating out in space.”

 

“She’s totally right.” Barry nodded, patting Danny’s hand encouragingly.

 

The leader, meanwhile, had moved from the window to the main piloting dashboard, back on track as always. “Anyone want to cook some food for tonight? If not, there’ll probably be an Outpost somewhere around here.” The crew turned to look at their leader. Ross asked this question every night, though the only decent chef was Barry, they all didn’t want to make him do it since he’d done so well on the mission. Ross shifted the main wheel, checking the automated map. “Outpost it is. One coming up soon, in fact. Strap yourselves in, we’re heading into stage two speed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> much more to come.


	2. Uninvited

Arinhansen couldn’t remember the last time he had blinked since he had been in this cell.

 

The enclosure wasn’t all that bad, he had gotten a good look at it when the Grump scum had thrown him in there, clean, off-white ceiling and floor, furnished with a semi-comfortable cot and a connecting simplistic bathroom just for him. No windows. No doors. No lights.

 

The worst part was the front of the cell. It worked like a garage door, wide and only opened by a mechanism that was far from his reach, though he didn’t know where. There was two layers to the door, the outer layer, which was impossibly thick and solid, and the inner, which had typical bars, but laced with atypical Randium and Jimmore. Two of the strongest metals Arinhansen knew. He hated it because it worked. It was a horribly undignified way for a mastermind who had built a kingdom for his overlords to end his career. Trapped in a cell, belonging to four merrymaking anarchists like these.

 

He sat in absolute darkness, in absolute silence, trying to think. At times like these, usually thoughts were the very things he wished he could ignore, but now, in his necessity, nothing came to him. The genius loved and feared as Arinhansen had no idea what to do now. His mind had shut down. It had given up already. His hands were pressed into his forehead, sweating and feeling exhausted from the sheer fear of not knowing. This was a new feeling to Arinhansen. Being unsure was never a thing that he dealt with, no matter the situation. He was cool, he was calm, he was collected. Nothing could’ve shaken him, nothing would’ve ever broken him like this… how did he not foresee this? Arinhansen had seeked to work under the Drump Allegiance’s branch of humans who fought for the Allegiance, despite humans being a race almost completely against them. The higher councils of the Drump were impressed by how much passion he had, and they steadily promoted him until he was asked to lead troops of Spinnakers, a hive-mind race of aliens under the Drump rule, to conquer new parts of the universe. He had overthrown six planets in under two years, an amazing track record for any Drump general, fuelled only by revenge. He had won. He had taken the title of emperor. Every creature in those six planets knew his power.

 

Just when he was at his highest, these four tore it all down in one night.

 

He kicked his leg out in frustration and hit nothing. He was glad for it, as a sound would have lead to the Grumps sticking their stupid noses in his business, and the last thing he wanted was for them to see him like this. See the way they’d made him. Unknowing.

 

The fallen emperor couldn’t get the memories of the battle where he lost it all out of his head. There must have been thousands of Drump casualties. Some were friends, some were strangers. He never thought he would care even the slightest bit about them until now. Still, the most disturbing part of the entire fight wouldn’t leave him alone. Arinhansen remembered it so clearly—turning around from his screen in the control room to the sound of a voice so familiar it hurt. In the doorway, there stood Jon, a general for the human troops that were fighting that night as well.

 

“This isn’t you.”

 

Jon was gazing at him with a look of such grief and disappointment Arinhansen couldn’t bring himself to do anything but press the help button on his chest and stare back, equally destroyed about what he had become. Years and years ago, Jon was Arinhansen’s best friend. Now, they were locked in deadly opposal. The world was moving in slow motion. Arinhansen couldn’t hear anything. He only watched as Spinnakers answered his call, flooding in through the door and jumping on Jon without a second thought. He only watched as Jon did nothing to fight back, just let tears well up and fall without ever breaking eye contact with the emperor. He only watched as the tower around him fell to pieces. He hoped killing Jon would exterminate the last shred of caring he had in him, but since then, it only had grown.

 

Arinhansen never held anger in. He would never let it fester, never mess with his internal compasses as emotions do. But here, there was nothing for him but anger. He longed for a way to disconnect, he hated that he couldn’t release his feelings. He laid down. He let his eyes water for only a second, revelling in the loss of a glory he once knew as his own. Arinhansen’s quivering hand reached up to wipe it away, then refused to feel anymore. He curled up on the metallic floor of the cell, unwilling to stoop low enough to sleep in the bed the Grumps taunted him with.

 

He wished he’d stop shivering.


	3. Support

Danny had always loved Outposts. He always thought of the first time they’d ever visited one, after one of Steam Ship’s engines broke down and the nearest rebel settlement they could land on was a sort of intergalactic rest stop on an approaching asteroid. Ross was having a borderline nervous breakdown over the situation and Danny had literally broke down in tears at the thought of potentially having to scrap Steam Ship, so Barry and Suzy had to do what they did best: band together and save everyone’s asses. They steered and landed the ship surprisingly well, accounting for the broken motor, and were almost immediately surrounded by creatures of dozens of different species, cheering outside of every window in the ship. Even Ross and Danny were surprised enough to stop their outbursts and watch the joy that was shrouding them. Suzy and Barry stepped out to talk to them, but Danny wiped his eyes furiously and stood up, staring out the window. First timidly, he raised his hand and waved. When the crowd cheered even louder, Danny smiled widely and waved confidently once more.

 

Barry and Suzy came back with good news: this place was just one in a chain of Outposts, tavern-like places where travellers could stay and party with other rebels, built in the wake of The Great Revolution. A few had mentioned the Grumps being the very reason these existed, so they owed it all to them. Danny was immediately in love with the place. The Grumps stepped out of their broken ship and were escorted by a horde of joyous creatures into the main building, which was a combination of a restaurant, a shelter, and an Earth-inspired club. Fairy lights strung everywhere, every species chatting and mingling happily, a grand fireplace keeping the whole place cozy warm. They spent the night having the most fun they had had in years, and then were permitted to stay the night in a connecting building which resembled a hotel with a little less privacy.

 

Outposts were some of Danny’s favourite ways to get sidetracked. Knowing they were heading to one put him in a very good—albeit impatient—mood.

 

“Suzy?” The four were all still sitting in the main control room, but had dispersed, with Ross still at the wheel, Barry checking the damages on the ship, Suzy reading all the information on the upcoming Outpost she could find, and Danny, lying on a couch, inspecting his cuticle situation.

 

Suzy sighed, running a hand through her hair. “Yes?”

 

“I feel like I’ve asked you this before, but if you weren’t doing this, where do you think you’d be?”

 

Suzy closed her holographic research engine and stared at Danny like he had just told her he was pregnant. “First, I have no idea. Second, you’ve asked me that about five times  _ in the past two days. _ ”

 

Danny went quiet, considering. “Okay, that may be true, but that’s because you never give me a proper answer. You have to have at least an idea. I know I would still be working in the shipping department of my old company, and I would’ve married a colleague of mine because my family would be getting so on my case about settling. I mean, come on, everyone else knows what they’d be doing, right guys?”

 

“Not a clue,” said Barry.

 

“Couldn’t tell you if I wanted to,” agreed Ross.

 

Danny rolled over and draped an arm over his forehead. “‘Guess that makes sense, you guys all had exciting lives before. I was just a guy.”

 

“I lost an eye. That’s pretty exciting, huh, Dan?” Barry asked, eyebrow raised.

 

“I lost the love of my family,” Suzy supplied.

 

“I lost a girlfriend.” Ross added from the front.

 

Danny sighed and pressed his hands to his head. “Stars, guys. I’m sorry, you’re right, I should be grateful that I had the past I did. I didn’t mean to be so insensitive, I just…”

 

“Hey, Danny?” Ross’s voice was softer now. “We love you, man.”

 

Danny smiled.

 

* * *

 

About a half hour later, they prepared for a smooth enough landing on the Outpost. Suzy and Barry had managed to find a way to contact them before landing, which was surprising, since part of the Outposts’ mission was to remain under the Drump’s radar—having almost no technology that could be used to track it down and small and slow-moving enough that it could pass as an abandoned ship to any Drump sensors. It was genius, really.

 

When Ross landed the ship, creatures of all sorts were already gathered around, congratulating the team on winning the night’s battle. News of Arinhansen’s loss had travelled far and fast. Danny made a mental note to grab something for him. The crew were transporting him to New Zax Island, a small prison planet that was considered the most heavy duty disciplinary facilities in the universe, but the four had agreed they wouldn’t mistreat him whatsoever, beyond keeping him locked up. They definitely weren’t going to starve him.

 

Danny gestured for his colleagues to exit before him with a warm smile, patting Ross on the shoulder as he walked out, impressed by the clean landing. When Danny himself stepped out, he greeted the various creatures with shining smiles, handshakes, pats on the head, whatever the particular species he was greeting entailed. The walk from the ship to the Outpost felt triumphant all over again. The Rebellion… it was growing.

 

From the inside, the Outpost was a beautiful, Kraren wood structure that perfectly captured the feel of a small-town Earth café late at night. There was music, dancing, food, laughter everywhere. Danny sighed in happiness and placed his arms around his friends. This was the kind of universe he wanted—everyone doing what they wanted, having the time of their lives.

 

Suzy nudged Barry and he nodded back, and they slipped out of Danny’s grasp before he could even ask what they were doing.

 

“We’ll be back!” Barry called, as he and the Star Elf disappeared into the crowd.

 

Danny and Ross stood alone now, so Danny dropped his arm and shook his head in amusement. “Are those two a thing yet? I mean, seriously, Barry’s the only person my sister hangs out with one on one!”

 

Ross raised his eyebrows. His moth twisted a few times before he spoke as if trying to find an appropriate way to organize his thoughts.  “I never thought they liked each other. I mean, in a more-than-friends way. I’m pretty sure they would’ve figured it out by now if so—you know? It’s been a long time and they’ve spent literally every day together since Suzy joined the team.”

 

“You make a good point,” Danny laughed. “You don’t think they’ve been hiding a secret relationship from us, do you? For all we know, they’re just making out in the bathroom right now.”

 

Ross grinned. “No, we would have known. Steam’s walls echo pretty loud.”

 

“Also true. Most likely scenario: one of them has been hardcore friendzoned.” Danny looked at Ross, almost as if for approval. Even at times like these, just acting as friends do, outside of their duties as defenders of freedom, Ross still felt like a leader to Danny. He would always know what to do or say.

 

“Hm,” was Ross’s only addition to that.

 

Ross said that he was going to talk to the owner of the Outpost and see if they could spare some food, so Danny decided to wander off and make conversation with some creatures. As much as he was admired for being a Grump, this job wasn’t really the best for meeting girls. Danny really missed that aspect of being a regular guy—relationships were natural. They just happen. Out here, they become everything, he had come to realize. Everything was a matter of life and death, and putting yourself in a situation of being important to someone wanted by the biggest universal empire was not a good idea. Whenever he thought about trying to find a girl he liked, he always thought about Holly, Ross’s girlfriend who had died in the war. It just wasn’t that easy anymore. It almost made him lonely.

 

He almost wished Barry and Suzy were together. It would prevent them from this situation, two less friends for Danny to worry about falling for someone who just couldn’t deal with this life.

 

Danny shook his head. He was supposed to be having fun! He loved these places. Spotting a particularly enchanting landform Mermaid, he sauntered over to see if his flirting abilities were rusty yet.

 

* * *

 

Ross was having trouble. He had found the owner, a tall, elderly Dragonai woman named Mamisim, but she wasn’t so keen on the Grumps being in her Outpost.

“Ma’am, I also hate this war. My hope with this group is that we can end the war in double the time.”

 

“Boy, you and your humans are leaving trails of destruction wherever you go. I wanted peace, not further violence.”

 

“Mamisim, please understand… I have lost friends, family, lovers to this conflict.” Ross’s eyes were pleading now, almost completely sincere. “No one wants this out of their life more than I do. Before it takes the life one my best friends. We will leave if you so desire, but I need to know you understand our intents.”

 

“I hate to interrupt,” Suzy’s voice sounded from around the corner, and they both turned to see her and Barry standing at the doorway to the back room, where Mamisim’s office was. “I also hate to admit to snooping around until I found you two.”

 

Suzy curtsied wide to Mamisim, and smiled up to the Dragonai kindly. Ross was surprised at her—she rarely volunteered to talk to strangers so openly. Especially Dragonai, who towered over all four humans (if Suzy could be considered a human), just large by nature. They did have close evolutionary ties with the creatures on their planet, Scorchard, which looked enough like dragon enough for humans to them as such. Some even had wings. That was one planet the Grumps had yet to visit—it just seemed a little… dangerous.

 

“Madam, I am Mortemer of the Grumps. We fight in this one for one reason: to end it. If we stood down and allowed the Drump Allegiance to overtake the universe, they will use us for their own gain and start turning on each other, all wanting to rise to the top. Their leader will watch and be impartial as we’re sent on suicide missions to conquer an already conquered galaxy. I know it’s true because this is already happening in parts of the universe, and the native creatures there are going extinct.” Suzy paused to breathe. “We can do nothing but fight…” she shook her head, blue eyes almost glowing with a fiery passion Ross barely knew she had, “or we will be nothing.”

 

Mamisim closed her eyes in deep consideration. She reached out slowly and placed a quivering hand on Suzy’s cheek.

 

“You are sincere. For that, you gain my trust. Please forgive me, I am just so afraid of what the universe is coming to…”

 

Suzy placed a her own hand on top of Mamisim’s. “We all are, Madam. As long as you are on our side, we will do everything to protect you and your patrons. Does that provide any comfort?”

 

Mamisim nodded slowly. “You four are formidable, I surprise myself even to say it does. My support is all yours, dears. Step aside, I will inform the Outpost.” The Dragonai dropped her hand and walked off into the main room of the Outpost, where the party still raved on.

 

Ross huffed and Barry laughed.

 

“‘You’re so sincere, Suzy, wow, you’ve changed my life!’” Ross mocked, only half jokingly bitter. “Am I not sincere? What am I doing wrong? We said basically the same thing!” The leader complained, while Barry continued losing it behind him.

 

Suzy grinned. “Maybe you’re just bad at talking to women,  _ dear _ .” The Elf then flipped her long black hair in Ross’s face and walked out of the room as well.

 

“Think we should go see what Mamisim’s saying about us?” Barry asked a minute or two after Suzy exited, wiping a cry-laughing tear from his eyes and walking up to Ross to rest his arm on his shoulder. Barry was significantly shorter than Ross, and especially shorter than Danny, just about the same size as Suzy, which made him pull poses like that to try and seem taller. It really didn’t work.

 

“Yeah…” Ross didn’t sound too ready to, though.

 

Barry slid his arm off Ross’s shoulder and turned to actually face his best friend. “You aren’t actually upset Mamisim listened to Suzy and not you, right?’ Barry looked so concerned that Ross put on a much more convincing smile than prior.

 

“No, no, it’s not that.” The leader shrugged. He didn’t really know what it was, either, but he just knew he didn’t want to go out there just yet.

 

“Hey,” Barry’s voice was calm and warm, something Ross had always like about him. Barry reached over to pat his arm comfortingly. “I’m proud of you. We all are. You’ve got a lot on your shoulders, I get it. But we’re here to help you out, man.”

 

Ross smiled, for real this time. “I appreciate it, Barry.”

 

“Of course… now, c’mon. Suzy’s gonna start thinking we’re talking trash about her in here.” Barry spun around and made to leave.

 

Ross really didn’t want to. He didn’t want to hear any other voices, he didn’t want to get to know anymore people. Barry and him had been friends when they were younger, and all that Ross remembered from that time was feeling nothing but a shroud of happiness whenever they were together. Everything was different now. They were older and danger was everywhere, they could never just do regular friend things, it was hard to see past the duty. Ross grabbed Barry’s hand just as he opened the door to leave, pulling him back.

 

“Barry, wait a sec. Look, it’s been too long since we’ve just… talked. Nothing bad is happening now and I want to make the most of it, and being your friend, that’s the best thing I could be right now.” Ross was staring up at him pleadingly.

 

Barry looked down at his hand, which Ross hadn’t let go of yet. “You know, you’re right.” He said finally, smiling once more. “I missed it, Ross."

 


	4. Blackout

Danny had look up from his conversation with a few Turntsnacos to see a large Dragonai woman step up onto the stage at the back of the room, the band stopping and everyone going quiet when she did. Looks like Ross had managed to do… something.

 

“Hello, friends, family, dear patrons. If you do not know, my name is Mamisim. I am the owner of this lovely Outpost.” A few cheers erupted and Mamisim smiled. “And, as many of you also know, we have always been an Outpost geared towards peace instead of conflict.” Slightly less cheers. Danny could see his Mermaid friend from earlier staring at him a bit uncomfortably out of  the corner of his eye. It was no secret the Grumps engaged in combat whenever necessary or beneficial. He was suddenly afraid of where this speech may go.

 

Mamisim continued. “But tonight, I spoke with a very influential member of the Grumps, the legendary Mortemer.” Several aliens applauded and Danny swivelled his head to try and find her, knowing she wasn’t the keenest on having attention on her. But to his surprise, she had just the smallest of smiles on her lips. He turned back to the stage. “She explained why we must fight fire with fire, and though I do not condone violence they way many do, I understand now why they must do what they do.” The Dragonai woman sighed deeply. She seemed to consider her every word; always thinking. Danny admired that.

 

“So, I have decided that the Grumps are our friends. They deserve our support, and so we shall give it to them.”

 

The room bursted out in cheers and whoops of agreement, aliens started shaking Danny’s hand all around and offering him drinks. He politely declined and slowly moved through the crowd, while above him Mamisim held up a glass of water and proclaimed: “to The Revolution!”

 

Creatures of all sorts gleefully held up their own drinks and chanted it right back. Danny found himself whispering along as he waded through the full Outpost. The band started playing again, everyone resumed their conversations, and Danny reached Suzy’s side. Suzy smiled over her shoulder at her half-brother, knowing he had wandered over just in case she wasn’t feeling so great in the spotlight.

 

“I don’t know what kind of Elven magic you pulled on that lady, but well done, girl.” Danny patted Suzy’s shoulder with a grin.

 

The Star Elf laughed and pretended to shove him away. “You don’t know how Elves work at all! Besides, sometimes you just have to be nice. Gasp! Who would’ve thought?”

 

“Man, where would we be without you?”

 

Suzy shrugged, eyes twinkling. “Dead in a ditch somewhere, I presume?”

 

* * *

 

The party went on for hours. A few attendees left, but most headed off the the complimentary beds Outposts provided to get rested for another day of merrymaking. Barry and Ross had returned to Danny and Suzy at one point, and the four had a perfect night living it up together. When they were all tired of the voices and people everywhere, they bid Mamisim and other particularly friendly creatures farewell and headed out to sleep in Steam Ship. There was nothing wrong with the beds in the Outpost, but it was like going home after a night out. They all fell asleep in the control room, Barry and Suzy strewn over the couch near the back, Ross curled up on the oversized captain’s chair, and Danny grabbing blankets from his room to bring into the room so he could sleep on the floor between them. He tossed them all on the floor and glanced around. All his peers were already asleep. He smiled, knowing they deserved it. He yawned, himself, but just as he was about to lay down, he realized he had forgotten about someone. Danny reached into the pockets of his pants and felt the small box and bread roll he’d asked for back at the Outpost. He spun on his heels and stepped quietly as possible over to the the control panel, moving his finger down the buttons until he got to the one that read in bolded letters:  **CELLAR DOOR.** Danny pressed it shakily, then sprinted down the halls to get to the cell.

 

It was at the back and bottom of the ship, enclosed in another room with a door that could only be locked from the outside. He pressed his palm to the keypad and anxiously waited for the automatic door to recognize it and slide open. He knew their prisoner wasn’t going to be able to escape, especially in that amount of time, but it still worried him. The cell had a pretty genius system, kudos to Barry for configuring it, where the cell had two doors to be opened electronically—one could only be done from the control room, the other could only be done from inside the room. A prisoner could never escape on their own, and someone coming in through the ship to save them couldn’t do it either.

 

Danny stepped in the room and flicked on the light. Danny had lifted the cell’s near-impermeable white wall out of the way, so all that was left was the metal poles, spaces between not far enough apart so someone could get through, but not close enough together that Danny couldn’t see the former emperor’s tragic state.

 

The skin around his eyes was hollow and dark like he hadn’t slept in days, his hair was matted and his skin was shiny—from tears or sweat Danny had no idea. He was curled up on his side, looking like an exhausted ghost. A minute after the light flickered on, he sat up lightning fast with a gasping breath and Danny made eye contact with Arinhansen. When the Drump general saw who had interrupted his rest, his eyes narrowed in a way that spelled “what do you want?” very clearly.

 

In all honesty, Danny had forgotten. He was the one Grump who hadn’t got a good look at Arinhansen before now, just a quick glimpse before they had locked him in. The former emperor wore a red cape over a Drump army uniform that had been decked out in gold, but Danny was staring at his eyes. One eye was chocolate brown and normal, although stormy and haunted in the moment. But the other seemed to be replaced by a silver contraption, small metal squares running from his neck up to just over his eye, which was no eye, but a red, faintly glowing, replacement of one. The first actual thought Danny managed to form was:  _ I’m glad Barry doesn’t look like that. _ Once the silence between them had been far too long, Danny quietly cleared his throat.

 

“Sorry if I… woke you up or anything.” Danny gulped, but Arinhansen didn’t make a single move. The Grump had to admit, he really felt bad for the man before him, though he knew perfectly well what Arinhansen had done. “Anyway, I got you some, uh, food. I hope you like salad.” He bent down and reached through the metal to place the little boxed salad in front of the prisoner, then the bread on top so it wouldn’t touch the ground. Arinhansen stared at the meal blankly while Danny stood awkwardly, not sure what to do from there. “Um, yeah. There’s a fork in there, hope it’s good. Okay, guess I’ll be going… wait.” Arinhansen finally looked up, eyebrows raising a little, the most emotion that had crossed his face the entire one-sided conversation. “You probably need some water. I’ll be right back.” Danny finished before leaving the room in hurry. His hand hovered over the keypad outside of the door, weirdly conflicted as to whether he should close it or not. He did what he knew he should and pressed the CLOSE button gingerly then stepped away, feeling his gut twist as if he’d betrayed someone. This was extremely strange. He grabbed a pitcher and a cup, filling up both because he figured this wasn’t going to be the only time the prisoner would want a drink. He was still human after all. He brought everything back and slipped it through the bars of the cell once more, feeling even more like he was deeply invading someone’s privacy this time.

 

Danny ran a hand through his curly hair. “Here, man. I, er… I don’t really think you care, but I just wanted to let you know that, uh, I really do want you to feel okay on board. We’re dropping you off in New Zax Island soon and we both know that that place is a shitshow. This sounds stupid. I know I helped imprison you and that you’re not the best dude or anything but… I just… don’t want you to not be happy?” Danny sighed, exasperated with himself. “What am I saying?” He muttered uselessly, putting his head in his hands, standing up and hitting the lights with his fist.

 

“Goodnight, Arinhansen.” He closed the door and walked back into the control room.

 

When he got back, he wrapped himself with one of his blankets but didn’t lay down, feeling like something was amiss. He was right. Walking softly over to Ross’s chair, he realized his friend was nowhere to be seen. He nervously pulled the blanket tighter around himself and looked around until he finally checked the ship’s map and saw the cargo gate was opened. The cargo gate was a hallways down and to the right of the control room, and Ross’s favourite place to go when the ship was anchored. Blanket and all, Danny found his friend sitting out on the ramp, looking out at the stars. He smiled. Ross wouldn’t mind some company, would he?

 

“You alright, buddy?” Danny asked tentatively, sitting down beside the leader.

 

“Ha,” Ross glanced over. “I see you’re back from your midnight fridge raid.”

 

“I… yeah. I am.” For some reason, Danny felt like his desperate attempts to convince Arinhansen that him and his team weren’t ruthless gladiators weren’t yet totally shareable. “Would’ve you been doing instead of sleeping?”

 

Ross was either considering his answer carefully, didn’t hear, or just didn’t care. He was looking up now, and Danny didn’t blame him, there was a perfect view of the Cranberry Nebula, its red streaks of light flowing out like waves, canvased by a backdrop of twinkling stars. What a beautiful night.

 

“I was just thinking about something you said earlier…”

 

Now they were getting somewhere. The last three times Ross had come out here and Danny had joined him, it had been because something was getting him down, more often than not it was him reminiscing about Holly. Danny cared deeply about the people around him, and if he could make Ross feel even a little bit better, it would be worth the time.

 

“What thing?” Danny prompted softly.

 

“Well—”

 

**Boom.**

 

Danny and Ross both spun to their feet as a hammering explosion sounded all around them. The world sprung to life, Danny could suddenly hear screams and shouts and falling debris with horrifying clarity. “The hell was that?” Ross shouted.

 

“We need to get Suzy and Barry and take a look!” Danny yelled back and they leapt into action, knowing the Outpost was in grave danger. Ross ran to his room to grab his weapons and Danny beelined for the control room. Suzy was awake and on her feet, but Barry was still asleep.

 

“Get your knives!” He called to Suzy and she complied without hesitation, clearly relieved to have any sort of guidance in this situation. As she ran off into her own room, Danny shook Barry wildly. He snorted and woke up slowly, looking around groggily. “Barry! Something happened!” Danny hissed to his sleepy friend. “You need to get your guns right now, okay?”

 

Barry blinked two more times, registered what Danny was saying, then jumped to his feet and almost fell over. Danny caught him.

 

“Is anyone hurt?” He asked, shaking a little in Danny’s grasp.

 

He swallowed. “We don’t know. We have to get out to check up on the Outpost as soon as possible. Go get your guns. Please.”

 

Barry nodded without any further questioning. After he scuttled off into his room, Danny turned on the ship and sent it roaring to life. Once the three were dealing with the situation on land, he was going to take a good look from the skies and if evacuation was needed, he’d supply. Ross ran into the control room, almost fully ready for battle.

 

“Be careful,” he warned, eyes dark and serious.

 

“You too,” replied Danny, reaching out to knock Ross’s crooked helmet into place. Danny watched as his friend kicked the trapdoor in the middle of the room open and jumped out.

 

Suzy came by next. Mask, Elven robes, knives attached to both hands and more in her belt, she was ready. “Good luck,” Danny whispered. She didn’t say anything in return, just nodded slowly before following Ross.

 

Finally, Barry. He had his cannon-styled gun in one hand and a fist clenched so tightly it was white in the other. He had no time to put on his full army uniform, but Barry religiously wore the green hard hat with the human army emblem on it no matter what conflict there was. He stared at Danny for a long time. “I’m afraid, Dan.” were the only words he said.

 

“Me too, Barry.” Danny wished there was more he could do to help. Barry leapt down the hatch and Danny closed it right after him, turning back to the control center and launching the ship into the air.

 

He didn’t fly far, just enough to examine the situation. The Outpost looked unharmed from here, but he could see smoke billowing from the other side. He changed directions as fast as possible to check it out, and what he found sent his heart beating. As if a bomb had been planted, the side of the Outpost had been absolutely destroyed, leaving a gaping, charred, smoking hole where there once were walls. Danny had to look away, and besides, he needed to find just who decided to leave such a kind gift. He piloted the best he could, seeing nothing until his radio suddenly blared to life.

 

Ross’s voice crackled over the ship’s speaker. “Land when you can. Come get injured creatures. Over.”

 

“Roger that.” Danny found an empty enough space on the asteroid to land again, just close enough to easily transport people if they potentially couldn’t transport themselves. He grabbed the extra blaster that hung up on the control room’s wall and both opened the hatch and lowered the ramp. He sheathed the blaster and ran down the ramp, elbow over his mouth due to all the smoke. Danny moved from alien to alien, he assumed everyone on  the ground needed some sort of help and he carried them up into the control room if they couldn’t get up when he asked if they could walk, or just led them behind him if they could. Killing things, destroying evil—that wasn’t really his speed. He truly believed, truly knew, that every living thing had good in them. Taking away the chance of that ever being redeemed for good, it wasn’t ideal for Danny. He would do it to protect the truly good, but the team understood that assisting and saving people instead was what he felt was the best contribution he could make.

 

After carrying in a creature who wasn’t injured, just terrified, Danny activated his speaker. “What are you guys doing?”

 

He had no response for a few seconds and almost started panicking, but Barry’s voice replied quietly. “We think we found something. Ross and Suzy are helping creatures around here too, but I’m standing guard and seeing what this thing does.”

 

“What is it?” Danny felt none the wiser thanks to a very vague description.

 

“Come see for yourself,” Barry said something to someone else, voice muffled, then returned. “Suzy and Ross will keep getting creatures into the ship. You should take a look. It’s in the back of the building.”

 

“I’ll be there.” Danny took his finger off the speaker and addressed the room of rescuees. “Does anyone need anything? Water? Food? Support? Attention?” No one said anything, though they all looked at him. “No one? Great. Sit tight, alright everyone? I know this is stressful, but we’ll get you all to safety. You’re doing amazing.”

 

He slipped out of the ship and sprinted into the smoking Outpost, hand hovering over the blaster though he wasn’t looking forwards to the possibility of using it. Barry was indeed cowering in front of the back, cannon held defensively in both hands. When he saw Danny, he jumped up in relief.

 

“Take a look at this, man.” Barry opened the door behind him with one hand, and the sight that greeted Danny was enchanting but bewildering. In the middle of the back room, sunken into the floor, obviously having fallen from from above, was a huge, blue, egg-shaped… crystal. It fizzed with tiny shocks every few seconds as if electric, a translucent light blue colour that was shimmered all along the object’s surface.

 

“Stars…” Danny breathed, reaching out to feel the surface but changing his mind just as quick. “It’s beautiful but… what is it?” He asked Barry the question, but didn’t stop inspecting the rock-looking invader.

 

Barry shook his head. “I can’t figure it out. Not even Suzy knows, she thought it might be a sort of crystal asteroid at first, but she decided that it was too perfect to be a crystal and also—they don’t conduct.”

 

“Wow.” Danny stood up fully again. The space rock was taller than him. “If she doesn’t know, we’re not going to ever know.”

 

“I’m going to do some research once we evacuate this place.”

 

“We’re evacuating completely?” Danny asked, surprised. He turned around finally.

 

“Yep,” Barry shrugged. “Just to be safe. I mean, who knows if this thing is dangerous or not. I was thinking we’ll drop the aliens off at all their respective planets then we’ll continue liberating planets.”

 

“But, Barry, can’t some aliens not handle any speed past stage one? Steam Ship was designed only for humans. Even Suzy gets pretty funny about it if we do it long enough. And we can’t just drop them off one by one, we’d be out for maybe months!”

 

“Oh,” Barry scratched his beard, looking off in consideration. “You’re right.”

 

Danny clicked his speaker. “Suzy? Ross? Are we ready to leave with all the creatures yet?”

 

Ross’s reply was almost instant. “Yes. Everything good with the rock thing? Over.”

 

Barry turned on his own. “It hasn’t done anything, but the frequency of the sparks has gone down a bit. I’m fairly sure that’s irrelevant, however. We’ll be at the ship in a few.”


	5. Blackout

Danny had look up from his conversation with a few Turntsnacos to see a large Dragonai woman step up onto the stage at the back of the room, the band stopping and everyone going quiet when she did. Looks like Ross had managed to do… something.

 

“Hello, friends, family, dear patrons. If you do not know, my name is Mamisim. I am the owner of this lovely Outpost.” A few cheers erupted and Mamisim smiled. “And, as many of you also know, we have always been an Outpost geared towards peace instead of conflict.” Slightly less cheers. Danny could see his Mermaid friend from earlier staring at him a bit uncomfortably out of  the corner of his eye. It was no secret the Grumps engaged in combat whenever necessary or beneficial. He was suddenly afraid of where this speech may go.

 

Mamisim continued. “But tonight, I spoke with a very influential member of the Grumps, the legendary Mortemer.” Several aliens applauded and Danny swivelled his head to try and find her, knowing she wasn’t the keenest on having attention on her. But to his surprise, she had just the smallest of smiles on her lips. He turned back to the stage. “She explained why we must fight fire with fire, and though I do not condone violence they way many do, I understand now why they must do what they do.” The Dragonai woman sighed deeply. She seemed to consider her every word; always thinking. Danny admired that.

 

“So, I have decided that the Grumps are our friends. They deserve our support, and so we shall give it to them.”

 

The room bursted out in cheers and whoops of agreement, aliens started shaking Danny’s hand all around and offering him drinks. He politely declined and slowly moved through the crowd, while above him Mamisim held up a glass of water and proclaimed: “to The Revolution!”

 

Creatures of all sorts gleefully held up their own drinks and chanted it right back. Danny found himself whispering along as he waded through the full Outpost. The band started playing again, everyone resumed their conversations, and Danny reached Suzy’s side. Suzy smiled over her shoulder at her half-brother, knowing he had wandered over just in case she wasn’t feeling so great in the spotlight.

 

“I don’t know what kind of Elven magic you pulled on that lady, but well done, girl.” Danny patted Suzy’s shoulder with a grin.

 

The Star Elf laughed and pretended to shove him away. “You don’t know how Elves work at all! Besides, sometimes you just have to be nice. Gasp! Who would’ve thought?”

 

“Man, where would we be without you?”

 

Suzy shrugged, eyes twinkling. “Dead in a ditch somewhere, I presume?”

 

* * *

 

The party went on for hours. A few attendees left, but most headed off the the complimentary beds Outposts provided to get rested for another day of merrymaking. Barry and Ross had returned to Danny and Suzy at one point, and the four had a perfect night living it up together. When they were all tired of the voices and people everywhere, they bid Mamisim and other particularly friendly creatures farewell and headed out to sleep in Steam Ship. There was nothing wrong with the beds in the Outpost, but it was like going home after a night out. They all fell asleep in the control room, Barry and Suzy strewn over the couch near the back, Ross curled up on the oversized captain’s chair, and Danny grabbing blankets from his room to bring into the room so he could sleep on the floor between them. He tossed them all on the floor and glanced around. All his peers were already asleep. He smiled, knowing they deserved it. He yawned, himself, but just as he was about to lay down, he realized he had forgotten about someone. Danny reached into the pockets of his pants and felt the small box and bread roll he’d asked for back at the Outpost. He spun on his heels and stepped quietly as possible over to the the control panel, moving his finger down the buttons until he got to the one that read in bolded letters:  **CELLAR DOOR.** Danny pressed it shakily, then sprinted down the halls to get to the cell.

 

It was at the back and bottom of the ship, enclosed in another room with a door that could only be locked from the outside. He pressed his palm to the keypad and anxiously waited for the automatic door to recognize it and slide open. He knew their prisoner wasn’t going to be able to escape, especially in that amount of time, but it still worried him. The cell had a pretty genius system, kudos to Barry for configuring it, where the cell had two doors to be opened electronically—one could only be done from the control room, the other could only be done from inside the room. A prisoner could never escape on their own, and someone coming in through the ship to save them couldn’t do it either.

 

Danny stepped in the room and flicked on the light. Danny had lifted the cell’s near-impermeable white wall out of the way, so all that was left was the metal poles, spaces between not far enough apart so someone could get through, but not close enough together that Danny couldn’t see the former emperor’s tragic state.

 

The skin around his eyes was hollow and dark like he hadn’t slept in days, his hair was matted and his skin was shiny—from tears or sweat Danny had no idea. He was curled up on his side, looking like an exhausted ghost. A minute after the light flickered on, he sat up lightning fast with a gasping breath and Danny made eye contact with Arinhansen. When the Drump general saw who had interrupted his rest, his eyes narrowed in a way that spelled “what do you want?” very clearly.

 

In all honesty, Danny had forgotten. He was the one Grump who hadn’t got a good look at Arinhansen before now, just a quick glimpse before they had locked him in. The former emperor wore a red cape over a Drump army uniform that had been decked out in gold, but Danny was staring at his eyes. One eye was chocolate brown and normal, although stormy and haunted in the moment. But the other seemed to be replaced by a silver contraption, small metal squares running from his neck up to just over his eye, which was no eye, but a red, faintly glowing, replacement of one. The first actual thought Danny managed to form was:  _ I’m glad Barry doesn’t look like that. _ Once the silence between them had been far too long, Danny quietly cleared his throat.

 

“Sorry if I… woke you up or anything.” Danny gulped, but Arinhansen didn’t make a single move. The Grump had to admit, he really felt bad for the man before him, though he knew perfectly well what Arinhansen had done. “Anyway, I got you some, uh, food. I hope you like salad.” He bent down and reached through the metal to place the little boxed salad in front of the prisoner, then the bread on top so it wouldn’t touch the ground. Arinhansen stared at the meal blankly while Danny stood awkwardly, not sure what to do from there. “Um, yeah. There’s a fork in there, hope it’s good. Okay, guess I’ll be going… wait.” Arinhansen finally looked up, eyebrows raising a little, the most emotion that had crossed his face the entire one-sided conversation. “You probably need some water. I’ll be right back.” Danny finished before leaving the room in hurry. His hand hovered over the keypad outside of the door, weirdly conflicted as to whether he should close it or not. He did what he knew he should and pressed the CLOSE button gingerly then stepped away, feeling his gut twist as if he’d betrayed someone. This was extremely strange. He grabbed a pitcher and a cup, filling up both because he figured this wasn’t going to be the only time the prisoner would want a drink. He was still human after all. He brought everything back and slipped it through the bars of the cell once more, feeling even more like he was deeply invading someone’s privacy this time.

 

Danny ran a hand through his curly hair. “Here, man. I, er… I don’t really think you care, but I just wanted to let you know that, uh, I really do want you to feel okay on board. We’re dropping you off in New Zax Island soon and we both know that that place is a shitshow. This sounds stupid. I know I helped imprison you and that you’re not the best dude or anything but… I just… don’t want you to not be happy?” Danny sighed, exasperated with himself. “What am I saying?” He muttered uselessly, putting his head in his hands, standing up and hitting the lights with his fist.

 

“Goodnight, Arinhansen.” He closed the door and walked back into the control room.

 

When he got back, he wrapped himself with one of his blankets but didn’t lay down, feeling like something was amiss. He was right. Walking softly over to Ross’s chair, he realized his friend was nowhere to be seen. He nervously pulled the blanket tighter around himself and looked around until he finally checked the ship’s map and saw the cargo gate was opened. The cargo gate was a hallways down and to the right of the control room, and Ross’s favourite place to go when the ship was anchored. Blanket and all, Danny found his friend sitting out on the ramp, looking out at the stars. He smiled. Ross wouldn’t mind some company, would he?

 

“You alright, buddy?” Danny asked tentatively, sitting down beside the leader.

 

“Ha,” Ross glanced over. “I see you’re back from your midnight fridge raid.”

 

“I… yeah. I am.” For some reason, Danny felt like his desperate attempts to convince Arinhansen that him and his team weren’t ruthless gladiators weren’t yet totally shareable. “Would’ve you been doing instead of sleeping?”

 

Ross was either considering his answer carefully, didn’t hear, or just didn’t care. He was looking up now, and Danny didn’t blame him, there was a perfect view of the Cranberry Nebula, its red streaks of light flowing out like waves, canvased by a backdrop of twinkling stars. What a beautiful night.

 

“I was just thinking about something you said earlier…”

 

Now they were getting somewhere. The last three times Ross had come out here and Danny had joined him, it had been because something was getting him down, more often than not it was him reminiscing about Holly. Danny cared deeply about the people around him, and if he could make Ross feel even a little bit better, it would be worth the time.

 

“What thing?” Danny prompted softly.

 

“Well—”

 

**Boom.**

 

Danny and Ross both spun to their feet as a hammering explosion sounded all around them. The world sprung to life, Danny could suddenly hear screams and shouts and falling debris with horrifying clarity. “The hell was that?” Ross shouted.

 

“We need to get Suzy and Barry and take a look!” Danny yelled back and they leapt into action, knowing the Outpost was in grave danger. Ross ran to his room to grab his weapons and Danny beelined for the control room. Suzy was awake and on her feet, but Barry was still asleep.

 

“Get your knives!” He called to Suzy and she complied without hesitation, clearly relieved to have any sort of guidance in this situation. As she ran off into her own room, Danny shook Barry wildly. He snorted and woke up slowly, looking around groggily. “Barry! Something happened!” Danny hissed to his sleepy friend. “You need to get your guns right now, okay?”

 

Barry blinked two more times, registered what Danny was saying, then jumped to his feet and almost fell over. Danny caught him.

 

“Is anyone hurt?” He asked, shaking a little in Danny’s grasp.

 

He swallowed. “We don’t know. We have to get out to check up on the Outpost as soon as possible. Go get your guns. Please.”

 

Barry nodded without any further questioning. After he scuttled off into his room, Danny turned on the ship and sent it roaring to life. Once the three were dealing with the situation on land, he was going to take a good look from the skies and if evacuation was needed, he’d supply. Ross ran into the control room, almost fully ready for battle.

 

“Be careful,” he warned, eyes dark and serious.

 

“You too,” replied Danny, reaching out to knock Ross’s crooked helmet into place. Danny watched as his friend kicked the trapdoor in the middle of the room open and jumped out.

 

Suzy came by next. Mask, Elven robes, knives attached to both hands and more in her belt, she was ready. “Good luck,” Danny whispered. She didn’t say anything in return, just nodded slowly before following Ross.

 

Finally, Barry. He had his cannon-styled gun in one hand and a fist clenched so tightly it was white in the other. He had no time to put on his full army uniform, but Barry religiously wore the green hard hat with the human army emblem on it no matter what conflict there was. He stared at Danny for a long time. “I’m afraid, Dan.” were the only words he said.

 

“Me too, Barry.” Danny wished there was more he could do to help. Barry leapt down the hatch and Danny closed it right after him, turning back to the control center and launching the ship into the air.

 

He didn’t fly far, just enough to examine the situation. The Outpost looked unharmed from here, but he could see smoke billowing from the other side. He changed directions as fast as possible to check it out, and what he found sent his heart beating. As if a bomb had been planted, the side of the Outpost had been absolutely destroyed, leaving a gaping, charred, smoking hole where there once were walls. Danny had to look away, and besides, he needed to find just who decided to leave such a kind gift. He piloted the best he could, seeing nothing until his radio suddenly blared to life.

 

Ross’s voice crackled over the ship’s speaker. “Land when you can. Come get injured creatures. Over.”

 

“Roger that.” Danny found an empty enough space on the asteroid to land again, just close enough to easily transport people if they potentially couldn’t transport themselves. He grabbed the extra blaster that hung up on the control room’s wall and both opened the hatch and lowered the ramp. He sheathed the blaster and ran down the ramp, elbow over his mouth due to all the smoke. Danny moved from alien to alien, he assumed everyone on  the ground needed some sort of help and he carried them up into the control room if they couldn’t get up when he asked if they could walk, or just led them behind him if they could. Killing things, destroying evil—that wasn’t really his speed. He truly believed, truly knew, that every living thing had good in them. Taking away the chance of that ever being redeemed for good, it wasn’t ideal for Danny. He would do it to protect the truly good, but the team understood that assisting and saving people instead was what he felt was the best contribution he could make.

 

After carrying in a creature who wasn’t injured, just terrified, Danny activated his speaker. “What are you guys doing?”

 

He had no response for a few seconds and almost started panicking, but Barry’s voice replied quietly. “We think we found something. Ross and Suzy are helping creatures around here too, but I’m standing guard and seeing what this thing does.”

 

“What is it?” Danny felt none the wiser thanks to a very vague description.

 

“Come see for yourself,” Barry said something to someone else, voice muffled, then returned. “Suzy and Ross will keep getting creatures into the ship. You should take a look. It’s in the back of the building.”

 

“I’ll be there.” Danny took his finger off the speaker and addressed the room of rescuees. “Does anyone need anything? Water? Food? Support? Attention?” No one said anything, though they all looked at him. “No one? Great. Sit tight, alright everyone? I know this is stressful, but we’ll get you all to safety. You’re doing amazing.”

 

He slipped out of the ship and sprinted into the smoking Outpost, hand hovering over the blaster though he wasn’t looking forwards to the possibility of using it. Barry was indeed cowering in front of the back, cannon held defensively in both hands. When he saw Danny, he jumped up in relief.

 

“Take a look at this, man.” Barry opened the door behind him with one hand, and the sight that greeted Danny was enchanting but bewildering. In the middle of the back room, sunken into the floor, obviously having fallen from from above, was a huge, blue, egg-shaped… crystal. It fizzed with tiny shocks every few seconds as if electric, a translucent light blue colour that was shimmered all along the object’s surface.

 

“Stars…” Danny breathed, reaching out to feel the surface but changing his mind just as quick. “It’s beautiful but… what is it?” He asked Barry the question, but didn’t stop inspecting the rock-looking invader.

 

Barry shook his head. “I can’t figure it out. Not even Suzy knows, she thought it might be a sort of crystal asteroid at first, but she decided that it was too perfect to be a crystal and also—they don’t conduct.”

 

“Wow.” Danny stood up fully again. The space rock was taller than him. “If she doesn’t know, we’re not going to ever know.”

 

“I’m going to do some research once we evacuate this place.”

 

“We’re evacuating completely?” Danny asked, surprised. He turned around finally.

 

“Yep,” Barry shrugged. “Just to be safe. I mean, who knows if this thing is dangerous or not. I was thinking we’ll drop the aliens off at all their respective planets then we’ll continue liberating planets.”

 

“But, Barry, can’t some aliens not handle any speed past stage one? Steam Ship was designed only for humans. Even Suzy gets pretty funny about it if we do it long enough. And we can’t just drop them off one by one, we’d be out for maybe months!”

 

“Oh,” Barry scratched his beard, looking off in consideration. “You’re right.”

 

Danny clicked his speaker. “Suzy? Ross? Are we ready to leave with all the creatures yet?”

 

Ross’s reply was almost instant. “Yes. Everything good with the rock thing? Over.”

 

Barry turned on his own. “It hasn’t done anything, but the frequency of the sparks has gone down a bit. I’m fairly sure that’s irrelevant, however. We’ll be at the ship in a few.”

 


	6. Gone

With almost fifty creatures in the control room of Steam Ship, the Grumps huddled around the captain’s seat while Ross drove around slowly, cautiously winding through the asteroid field. Plans were being randomly thrown around, and they weren’t keen on keeping that many creatures in the ship for more than twelve hours for sure.

 

“Closest planet?” Ross asked to none of them in particular.

 

“Lavisa.” Suzy responded, frantically researching things on the monitor beside Ross.

 

The leader sighed. “Closest  _ rebel _ planet?”

 

Suzy stopped tapping around and looked over her shoulder. “Back to BLUPL. And not only is it tens of thousands of starjumps away, we can’t be sure of how stable it is so soon after liberation. Besides, Lavisa is neutral. At least it’s not Drump, right? I mean, we can’t have ourselves unable to speed up, just floating around like perfect Drump targets for longer than necessary.”

 

“Neutral doesn’t necessarily equal friendly or non-violent. You of all people should know that, Suzy. Just look at Star Elves. We’d probably get jailed for just walking on their ground.”

 

“Ross, there’s not a single reported case of a Lavisa resident killing a human.”

 

“‘Reported,’ ‘killing,’” Ross scoffed, “maybe they just detain for the rest of their lives.”

 

Barry and Danny glanced at each other. They both knew this argument was between the two most stubborn Grumps and could get heated fast. The two men had similar mindsets in a lot of ways, and in that one look, they both knew they sided with Suzy but didn’t want to speak up against Ross. Danny nodded his head towards Ross in an attempt to get Barry to explain that the Elf was right, after all, Ross and him had a much deeper bond than the leader and Danny. Danny knew Ross would trust his old friend with his life, though he didn’t show it often.

 

Barry rolled his eyes, but he understood why Danny wanted him to convince their friend. “Er, Ross, Suzy’s right. It’s risky, but we have a lot more at stake and no way out at the moment,” Barry filled the silence with a soft voice, while Danny gingerly put a hand on the Austran’s shoulder.

 

Ross was quiet for a few seconds.

 

“Fine.” Without warning, the pilot twisted the wheel towards the nearest planet.

 

* * *

 

Lavisa was mysterious. Many, many humans knew about it, but few knew why. About a decade ago, there were thousands of rumours about government conspiracies between Austra and Earth about long-dead ties with Lavisa being cut off because Lavisa was turning out to be better fighters than humans, and the other rebels were starting to value their help more, so humans stopped working with them to keep them on the down low. These rumours were almost all denied and humanity soon moved on, but people still believed. Besides, the only people who could deny them would also want to cover it up. Holly used to be one of the truth-seekers, not just for Lavisa, but for all species wronged by humans. Though they had improved every century they lived, humans were naturally cruel people. Holly understood this. She was the sort of hero who wouldn’t let humans be known as selfish, self-proclaimed superiors by exposing the dark parts of the race’s past and making them right. Ross knew about Lavisa solely from her, and he shared the stories he knew with the other three on the way there. He was in much better spirits now, which they were all relieved about.

 

“She used to interview old Lavisian war veterans illegally over video call and she’d have to start every session with something like, ‘if I stop this interview early, know it’s for my own safety,’ and they’d always be so amazed at the risk she’s taking for her cause. She just cared so much! Guys, my girlfriend was the best person in any world. She did the exact same thing when she heard that Elbain colonies were getting kicked off Earth even though they did nothing wrong. I remember something she said that was so great and has stuck with me forever, ‘Earth is like early twenty-first century New York. A hub of life, anyone should be allowed here.’ Oh, and that short time where Austra was starting to push towards deporting Earth people back? She actually talked to one of the Austran directors of planetary immigration—I ever tell you guys about that? Well…” Ross went on. He had told them about it probably a dozen times, but no one was going to tell him that. If he was talking about Holly, no one was going to interrupt for the world, and especially since he was happy instead of missing her horribly, they were just relieved he was feeling okay.

 

Barry was a main lifeline for Ross when Holly went to join the war, since he had been given some time patrolling Austra instead of anything productive, because the fighting was no longer as heavy in the military sector he was a part of. About once a week they would meet up and half the time was Ross raving on and on about Holly. Barry had never met her, but he had such a clear image of her in his mind from Ross’s descriptions that he could probably write her biography if he tried. There was one thing that he always mentioned her saying before she left for war: “I might not ever come back, you just have to be okay with that.” What a truly haunting statement, knowing the outcome. He appreciated Holly for keeping Ross hopeful, but questioned her for leaving him so impossibly obsessed. Barry had never seen someone so in love and so faithful to keeping that love alive without the possibility of contact. Sometimes he was ecstatic, mired in adoration for the girl so far away, sometimes he was waist deep in frustration, sometimes he was drowning in absolute grief, but he always missed her and he always was in love. Barry had never been able to relate—sure, he had had flings like everyone else, but he never initiated anything. Any love he ever felt was a passionate friendship, and that’s just the way it was. But Ross… it was so real for him when she was alive. He was a closed-off person as it was, so Barry often felt like painstaking absence was the only thing that prompted Ross to talk about his feelings for hours on end to him. Barry knew sides of Ross no one else had gotten a glimpse of, not even Holly. Him at his most defenseless.

 

Now, watching Ross talk about his past lover from the corner of his eye, Barry had a small, fond smile on his lips. The way Ross’s eyes lit up when he talked about Holly never changed, sparkling such a bright blue it was comparable to the crystal they had found earlier. He found himself often wondering if ever Ross talked about him as enthusiastically when Barry wasn’t around, he hoped the answer was yes but assumed it was no. That was the starlight twinkle in the eyes that’s reserved only for the long lost loves, no matter how important Barry was to Ross, he understood that he’d never be able to fill the hole Holly left in his heart. All Barry wanted to be was Ross’s lifeline. All he wanted to see was his best friend be happy again.

 

Barry loved Ross. He saw everything he did for people, he knew the lengths Ross’s kindness extended. People so often thought he was a cold man who lost his ability to properly feel years ago, but that was just wrong. He gave himself to the universe. He was fighting for freedom of the people. He wasn’t cold, he was human. Before, Ross cared only for Holly. But now, his love could spread to the furthest reaches of the universe. Barry was honoured to have even a slice of that.

 

“What do you think? Barry? Barry?” Suzy’s voice was abrupt.

 

“Eh?” He blinked, suddenly coming back to reality. All three Grumps were staring at him. “Um… yes…?” He decided to answer, completely missing the subject matter.

 

Danny laughed. “Didja have a nice standing-up nap?”

 

Ross was grinning, just as amused. “We were wondering what you thought of that view.” The leader gestured out the front window.

 

Barry had really missed a lot of travel. Lavisa was on the horizon, a ball of sombre green shrouded by blue clouds, huge rings stretched out in front of it like a caged bird. The colours were so vibrant Barry’s breath caught in his throat.

 

“It’s beautiful,”

 

“Looks like a green Austra, doesn’t it?” Suzy was barely looking up, doing as much research as she could until they were officially on the Lavisian radar.

 

“Um,” Ross sounded almost genuinely offended. “Austra is the most stunning planet to ever exist. You’ve been there, what, once? This place looks like a  _ dump _ compared to Austra.”

 

Suzy wolf-whistled and Danny and Barry tried not to laugh. “Someone’s touchy about their mediocre roots today.”

 

A minute of silence ensued until Danny stood up straight and dusted himself off. “We should probably inform our passengers, what’s up, yeah?” The other three watched as he spun around and addressed the rest of the room, a lot of which were snoozing or shaking, few were in a normal state at the moment. “Folks, listen up.” Danny had the sort of voice anyone would listen to without really knowing why, some said it was close enough to hypnotic. He was charismatic and insanely charming, hence why he did a lot of the talking. “I know we’re all anxious about this situation, but I hope you are all feeling at least a little bit better. We’re heading to the lovely planet Lavisa, where we will get some help sending you all home. Tell me, who has a spaceship license?”

 

As aliens raised hands and Danny collected names, Barry had joined Suzy and the monitor in trying to find a good place to land.

 

“See, I was thinking there,” Suzy pointed out a lighter green patch to Barry. “But if you zoom in it doesn’t even look that safe.”

 

“Yeah…” Barry spun the globe and tapped an empty enough section. He zoomed in closer and he and Suzy exchanged a pleasantly surprised glance. “Suzy, I think we just found ourselves a settlement.”

 

“It’s perfect! We can land in that field over there—Ross, I’m programming the route, ‘kay?” Suzy excitedly pinpointed and saved and all that she had to do, then turned back to Barry, running a hand through her hair. “If we get killed by Lavisians, I just want to say that I appreciate your good map reading abilities.”

 

“That’s about the best compliment I’ll ever get from you, Suzy, so I’m proud you do.”

 

* * *

 

The landing was smooth. Ross was getting better and better at piloting, and it was serving the team pretty well in the long run. Coming into Lavisa had been just as beautiful, there was mile-high trees almost touching the clouds that spiraled around with faintly yellow and blue trunks. It was like an Earth rainforest, but a thousand times more spectacular. They had descended into early Lavisian night, enough light to take in the glowing colours, but the darkness further illuminating the lights that came from within the towers of trees.

 

That in itself was a daunting concept. There was life here, on this planet, life that no one knew about.

 

“Great job, guys.” Ross stood up and faced the passengers. “I am sorry for two things, rebels. The wait and the fact that we’re going to have to leave you here for a while longer. We’re going to go congregate with the Lavisians.”

 

It was quiet for a second or two, then a young Cravee alien stood up. “Couldn’t we help? Give us a blaster and we can actually be useful.”

 

Ross went to automatically protest, but Suzy stepped forwards now, muttering to Ross, “the kid’s got a good idea. These are rebels, they probably have training.”

 

“Hm…” He considered for a second, but Barry would bet any money he was agreed with her but was too stubborn to let that on right away. “That’s an excellent point, Mr… what’s your name?”

 

The Cravee straightened up and glowed with pride. “My name’s Mojo!”

 

“Come on up, Mojo. Have you had some military training experience?”

 

He waded through the crowd until he stood in front of Ross, respectfully putting his hands behind his back. “Yeah, actually. I know I’m young, but I’m fighting because there’s nothin’ else to do."

 

Barry had walked up to Ross’s side and bent down to put a hand on Mojo’s shoulder. He had big eyes, in them the innocence of childhood battling with the reality of the world.

 

“Good man,” Barry said.

 

Danny got the memo as well. “Anyone who’s done at least an Earth year of training, come on up!” He proclaimed, secreting some cheers from the crowd. About twenty creatures stepped up to the front of the ship, some standing proudly, some timidly. All that mattered was that they were here.

 

“Amazing…” Danny grinned and climbed onto the captain’s chair, standing on it to remain within everyone’s view. “Welcome to the Grumps’ Troop! Today’s mission: to talk to the Lavisians and get some help sending you back to your respective planets! Remember that we need peace above everything to get what we want. However, a strong group like you will definitely improve our chances. Always listen to your leader, Ross, and good luck!”

 

More cheers and clapping, Danny put a hand to his chest and smiled before climbing back down.

 

“Someone needs to stay on board just in case,” Suzy said quietly, just to the three Grumps. Everyone looked at Danny.

 

He opened his mouth to say something, but shut it defeatedly. “Oh. Yeah.” He turned around, clearly dejected, smile fading. “I’ll stay, I guess.”

 

Barry hated seeing that apprehensive excitement turn to disappointment so quickly from someone who just desired happiness for everyone. Plus, this mission would be Danny’s area of expertise, with any luck. If they played the cards right, not a lick of fighting would be done. Barry wouldn’t be needed; his cannon would just threaten.

 

“Danny?” Danny turned around to look at Barry, who took his human army hat off and slowly placed it on Danny’s head. “You go, man. I’ll stay behind. Show those Lavisians what a true Grump is.”

 

Danny’s smile was bright enough to be his own sun. “You’re the best, Barry.” He adjusted his hat. “You won’t regret this! C’mon everyone, let’s get some phasers!”

 

Everyone was off like a shot. Suzy hovered by Barry for a second longer than the rest. She reached over and squeezed his hand for a moment, sad they wouldn’t be together but glad he’d made Danny’s day. Barry smiled a little at her as she left.

 

Now, it was his turn to hold down the fort. Barry kicked open the hatch and lowered the ramp, staring out the window at the Lavisian landscape that had welcomed them. Something was faintly unsettling about this place, he really felt it now that he was the only Grump staying ship bound. He pushed it aside and gave each exiting creature a thumbs up and words of good luck. Danny wrapped his long arms around Barry in a huge hug before leaving, still excited about actually going. Suzy just smiled as she left, and Ross mouthed a heartfelt “be careful,” like he shared Barry’s fear.

 

And that was that.

 

* * *

 

When the small troop had assembled and everyone was ready, they started marching through the short strips of trees to get to the settlement just beyond, very unsure of what they’d find. It didn’t take all that long, which didn’t give them a lot of time to worry, a plus side to this situation. They walked into the outskirts of what looked to be an old village with strange pockets of technology. The lights were all advanced, glowing cubes hovering in the air all around, but the houses were a strange, 2100s look that most of the troop had only seen in pictures. The area was quiet. The town looked calm and sleepy, which was definitely good if peace was what they were going for. Mojo, who had been hopping along beside Ross and Danny, took a few steps into the town.

 

“Mojo, wait—!” Ross hissed quietly, but was answered by a voice from above.

 

“Let him. It’s not like we use that place anyways.”

 

Every person in the troop audibly gasped and frantically tried to pinpoint what they had just heard. Danny clicked his handy flashlight on and shone it upwards. Immediately, they all shushed and stared at the canopy of trees, mesmerized. In the branches were hundreds of human-looking creatures with small, colourful differences that made them just a little ethereal. Their limbs were longer, their hair were stranes colours and textures and seemed to mold into tails, curling around branches, their faces had faint patterns of strange colours reflecting light all across.

 

The one that seemed to have spoken slid down the tree with formidable ease. She was probably seven feet tall, green sparkles like freckles sprinkling all over her face and arms, skin dark, demeanour enchanting. Her clothes were strangely human, ripped up and dirty, but she definitely wore a tank top and jeans. Danny was charmed.

 

“Hello, ma’am. Can I just say, you are stunning.” He took a step forwards, protectively putting a hand on Mojo’s shoulder but also dipping his head respectfully. She looked at him for a second, raised her eyebrow, unimpressed, and faced the rest of the group.

 

“Who’s your leader?” Her voice was song-like, firm but magical. Everyone pointed at Ross. “Hm. What are you doing here,  _ human _ ?”

 

“My name is Ross. We would like to apologize for intruding like this, but we are serious need of help.” Ross joined Danny, extending his hand out to the Lavisian lady.

 

She shook it reluctantly. “My name is Mochi. Please elaborate on your situation, and more importantly, answer me why you seek it here,” she flicked the human crest on Danny’s hat scornfully. “We are not rebels.”

 

Danny muttered indignantly and straightened it once again.

 

Ross shot his crewmate a look that clearly urged him to kindly shut the hell up. “We are aware, and we send our apologies for intruding like this, but it’s dangerous out there for us, and your planet was the closest. We have a ship full of stranded aliens who have survived an attack, and we can’t return them to their homes alone. All we request is some ships and potentially a few pilots, and if you want a boon of some sort, we will do our best to provide.”

 

Mochi extended a green arm upwards, and with her gesture, the other Lavisians leapt from the trees and landed all around them, peering curiously at the newcomers. Ross raised his one hand without breaking eye contact with Mochi, signalling to his own troop to refrain from attacking or freaking out. Danny could feel the discomfort as the rebels were surrounded, but he could see in Ross’s eyes that he trusted Mochi not to command her people to attack. He hoped deeply he was right.

 

“Lavisians, what should we do with these… visitors?”

 

Just as she finished speaking, a blinding flash of light illuminated the darkness of the Lavisian night, white filling everyone’s senses. It lasted for a second that felt like a century, after it faded some had passed out, some looked nearly blinded, cries of confusion sounded out from both troops.

 

Danny, dizzy and barely aware of his own vision, heard Ross yell “what was that?” at Mochi and her muffled reply being a queasy “I don’t know!” He stumbled over to Ross and grabbed his shoulder to steady himself, trying desperately to press his speaker. He fumbled until Suzy ran up and did it for him before grabbing Ross’s other arm in fear.

 

“Barry? Barry! Are you alright? What happened?” Danny interrogated the speaker, dread growing like chills down his back.

 

There was no answer.

 

All three Grumps looked at each other and started running back to the ship, the rest of the troop still standing following, then finally Mochi and her people, out of curiosity or worry, they did not care. The ramp was still down and Suzy, who could outrun Danny and Ross easily, shot up it in record time. “Barry!” She cried once inside. All the aliens who had stayed behind seemed to be there still, all wide-eyed in shock.

 

“Where is he?” Suzy stamped up to them, just as she did, scaring them even more, Ross grabbed her shoulder and yanked her back. “Don’t touch me! Where is he?” She repeated, pushing Ross away forcefully.

 

An alien, quivering but bravely opening her mouth to speak, finally answered. “We-we don’t know…”

 

“You don’t—!”

 

Danny ran up behind Suzy and carefully placed a hand on either one of her arms, restraining her much more gently. “Shh, shh…” she still looked angrily desperate, but she didn’t struggle against him. “Guys? Can you tell us exactly what you remember?” Danny’s voice was light, collected and calming as usual, serving as a flicker warmth in such a tense moment.

 

The same alien tried to recall as Danny slowly stepped away from Suzy, staying by her but no longer touching her. “It-it was so… fast. He was talking to us about how the ship works to keep the younger ones preoccupied, then the light an-and then he was gone. He was standing right there,” she pointed to where Ross stood, his arms crossed and brow furrowed. “Then, he wasn’t.”

 

Everyone turned to look at Ross. He said nothing for a long time, to an observer, carefully considering, but Danny and Suzy, they could tell he had no idea what to do this time.

 

“Alright. Everyone, lets search the ship. No one go in the room down the back of the ship, okay? Everywhere else—just-just, let’s find him.” Ross watched with tired eyes as the crowd nodded and dispersed. After most of the aliens had cleared out, he sunk to the ground, putting his head in his hands. The other two Grumps followed, both gently comforting Ross with light touches and quiet words. They were just as afraid, just as confused, but they needed to keep Ross intact to keep the situation intact.

 

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Ross muttered through his fingers, “I’m just so… scared. Guys,” the other two didn’t answer in words, but Ross knew they were listening. “You guys don’t think he… left, do you?”

 

Suzy had reverted into a level of gentleness and caring Danny rarely ever saw, her hands moved like a mother’s over Ross’s quivering back, caressing him lightly when he truly needed it. Danny had always been the heart of it all, but Suzy’s real affection was so uncommon but so precious that Danny let her take control of the situation. He exchanged a conversation through looks with her across Ross’s hunched body, trying to convey that he was going to help. She nodded slowly and turned back to Ross. Danny stood up, giving Ross one last gentle pat before getting up and heading to the back. To keep his mind off what was happening, he needed to do something. He needed to feel like he was helping somehow. Danny clicked the first door switch. He headed out, every few steps looking behind him to see if Ross was still inabilitated.

 

Suzy had felt such an intense wave of aggressive caring come over her when she saw Ross fall apart like this, she almost forgot she also lost her best friend. She loved Ross as they all did, but she never knew how to show it or even if she should. He probably wouldn’t remember or think much of this moment once he was back to normal, but Suzy was completely fine with that. She needed to keep him grounded. She could almost feel the panic of losing Barry like he lost Holly rising up in him, giving off fear like body heat.

 

“No, no, he would never. Ross, you don’t know how much you mean to Barry. He would never leave us. Leave you.” Suzy felt the words fall out of her mouth and scatter around, desperately hoping his name would knock some sense into Ross. This was the absolute last thing she wanted Ross theorizing: that Barry had left on his own will. He planted that seed in her mind as well, but she elected to ignore it, knowing it was definitely wrong. She spoke the truth, Barry talked about Ross to her so often she was surprised he hadn’t caught him doing it yet. He had such a glorious pride for what Ross had accomplished despite his sadness and everything that had happened to him—Suzy needed to stop thinking about that. She had to focus on getting Ross back together. The Elf flicked a tear stubbornly from her eye, convincing herself weakly that Barry would come back. Wherever he was.

 

Stars, she hoped he was safe.


	7. Unanswered

Walking to the cell for the second time within twenty-four hours felt surreal. His feet dragged through the fog of nightmares, where a Grump had mysteriously disappeared from their lives. Nothing made sense. The story was so strange but every alien said it was the truth, and he believed it. Danny had been thinking about it: who would want Barry gone? A powerful force like the Grumps broken? The answer was so clear to him that it seemed wrong.

 

Danny pressed his hand to the keypad and walked in, avoiding Arinhansen’s eyes until he absolutely had to talk to the prisoner. The discomfort that hung between them since last time had only grown, Danny wondered if he should just stop trying to be nice. It was such a stupid thing to do, he could’ve just tossed Arinhansen the food and left. But it felt so wrong. There was a fifth passenger on board now, one who’d be there until they got all the aliens home and managed to get to New Zax Island. He was a person, albeit a bad one, but he deserved inherently human treatment.

 

Danny stared at the glowing red eye thing. Arinhansen looked just as unimpressed as before, just as silent, and just as haunted. The Grump tried his best to form some actual words but his throat had gone unnecessarily dry.

 

“U-um… hey, again. I’m sorry I’m back, I, ah… I have a question. It’s really important this time. Like, really important. And we’ve got reason to believe you’ve got something to do with it.” Did that sound harsh enough? Definitely not. Danny knew that threats were the fast way to get information, but he was unsure if he was going to be able to do that.

 

“Anyway. If you know anything at all, I expect you to tell me. Got it?”

 

Arinhansen tilted his head slightly, one eyebrow raised, which Danny felt like was going to be his only movement to confirm he did, indeed, get it.

 

“My—our friend is missing. I have a feeling he was taken by someone or something. The Drump happen to be our main enemies at the moment. You don’t have anything to do with this, do you?” Danny felt his own voice crack at one point and hoped his face didn’t reflect the tidal wave of worry he couldn’t suppress.

 

To his surprise, Arinhansen stood up. At first, Danny took a terrified step backwards, but remembered he was the one with the power here, and urged himself to stand up straight and face the prisoner with all the courage he had. He was happy to find he was taller than Arinhansen.

 

They just stared at each other, two sides of life suddenly meeting.

 

“Why are you being so nice?”

 

Arinhansen’s voice was not something Danny was ready to hear. It was deep but clear, commanding but not accusatory. It was almost… pleasant. It was nothing he ever even would have imagined coming from the same mouth that had shouted order to his armies to kill every human they saw. It sounded like the voice of a regular guy.

 

Danny realized he still needed to answer. “I… I…” How was he  _ supposed  _ to reply? He didn’t know why. He didn’t even want to be nice to this guy, it just happened. “Um… you didn’t answer  _ my _ question. Y-yeah. If you avoid it, I’m going to have to just assume you’re guilty.”

 

Arinhansen snorted and rolled his eyes. It was similar to the way Suzy always pretended to be fed up with the other three of them, but she was always kidding. Not even a flicker of a smile crossed Arinhansen’s face. “I have nothing to do with any friend of yours. The minute you left last evening, you all could have died and I would have no idea.”

 

Danny winced. Something about Arinhansen mentioning, actively remembering their last encounter made Danny feel even stupider. He shouldn’t be so humiliated—he had the upper hand here by quite a bit—but there continued to be something so impossible about Arinhansen. He was on another level of human Danny could barely hope to achieve. He cleared his throat, rolling up his sleeves and trying not to seem so easily shaken.

 

“Are you completely sure? Keep in mind, this is a very bad situation for you to lie to me.” In reality, Danny was so desperate for answers he needed to persist even though he could easily tell Arinhansen wasn’t lying.

 

The prisoner didn’t say another word for a long time, unmoving, until Danny got nervous and started fidgeting with his collar. Arinhansen’s gaze was so unnerving; inhuman. Danny couldn’t see a spark of any emotion behind his one remaining eye.

 

“I’m not lying. Leave me alone now.”

 

Danny didn’t need to be told twice, but he waited, staring down at Arinhansen for a little longer, unwilling to follow this guy’s orders. “Bye.”

 

As Danny went to leave, Arinhansen muttered something under his breath. Danny glanced behind him and asked carefully, “what was that?”

 

“Nothing.” Arinhansen said firmly, not even looking at him.

 

As the door closed behind him, Danny was almost completely sure the last few muffled words that had come out of Arinhansen’s mouth were “sorry about your friend,” but he didn’t dare believe it. He hovered just outside the cell, wondering if he would hear anything else. He didn’t.

 

Danny’s lips twisted into a hopeful smile. Maybe, just maybe, he had heard correctly. Maybe this criminal imprisoned on board was deserving of the kindness Danny gave.

 

Danny shook his head, smile fading as suddenly as it came. This wasn’t going to get Barry back. He left the cell behind and headed off again, going to see how Ross was doing.

 

* * *

 

Ross had stood enough of this stupid breakdown at a time when it was more than necessary for him to stand up and be a leader. After creatures had started pouring back into the control room and none of them had found anything useful, he pulled it together and made a half-speech which Suzy covered a fair bit of. He was glad he still had Suzy and Danny there to read his mind like they could. Someday he’d find a way to thank them for being so great.

 

Danny and Suzy had herded the aliens just outside the ship, telling them to stay by the ship with Ross and make sure everyone stays there. Then, together, the siblings headed back through the Lavisian wilderness to find the residents again and plead help for a second time.

 

They returned to the abandoned town, and as if having been sensed, Mochi dropped down in front of them, looking genuinely worried this time.

 

“You two!” She crossed her long arms across her chest. “What happened over there? Is Ross safe?”

 

Suzy sighed shakily. “Ma’am, yes, he’s alright, but our friend is missing. We have a lot of problems at the moment, and all we need is a place to keep about forty-five aliens safe and well until we can get them all home.”

 

Danny nodded and continued on Suzy’s tangent, eyes pleading. “We came to ask if we could use this town since it seems abandoned. Not… for long, but we really need this now. Miss Mochi, I know we haven’t been the best guests, but—”

 

“If we can just have this one thing, we’ll do our best to fulfill any payment you request.” Suzy finished. Her voice quivered, the first time Danny had seen her unstabilized in a long time. He automatically reached over and took her hand gently. She squeezed his back.

 

Mochi nodded almost immediately. “I understand your situation better than you know. I allow you to stay, and my only wish is that you come to speak with me in that tent.” She pointed across the town to a decorative hut that was slightly bigger than the rest. “After you relocate all your rebels, meet me in there. Bring your leader.”

 

“Thank you,” Suzy and Danny breathed in unison. Danny released his sister’s hand and clasped his together, dipping his head to Mochi. “You’re an absolute lifesaver. C’mon, Suzy! Let’s get these aliens to safety!”

 

Danny and Suzy were off like shots.

 

Mochi nervously watched them go. She was about to recount something that the people of Lavisa had kept secret for forever, thinking it was for the safety of the Lavisians. So far, keeping it a secret had only amplified the problem. But these humans… they wanted to help. They were good people. She could feel it.

 

Her people would not be happy with her for going behind their backs like this. It was, however, a necessary evil.

 

* * *

 

Arinhansen didn’t care who heard anymore. He punched the wall of the cell, hoping the pain that reverberated through his arm and into his skull would refuel the fire of fury that had died in him slowly while he’d been here. He didn’t want to lose that need for revenge that had driven him to be as powerful as he was, that had struck fear into rebel hearts, that had kept him from thinking about what he had really become. He didn’t want to consider that he might not have taken the right path. He hated that that curly-haired show pony could walk in here and make him feel like everything he had done was completely invalid. He wanted to be treated like dog shit, to be shown that someone else would treat him the way he’d treat them, had the roles been reversed. He would not try to make small talk, he would not use any manners, and he’d never in a million years give salad with a fork to a prisoner. Why was this jackass so nice to him? What was the reward? What was the motive? It was pissing Arinhansen off. It was making him question everything, all this time that he thought he was doing the right thing thrown off by some lanky rebel who looked like an excitable pool noodle with a wig.

 

Why couldn’t these guys just be normal captors and do their worse? Torment him, or something. Torture him for information. He was feeling a hole of dread being dug in his gut, filling with a feeling he despised more than life itself.

 

Guilt.

 

He had been running from it for so long. Killing Jon had sent it spiralling out of control and he could do nothing to suppress it in here, now  _ this? _ The last thing Arinhansen ever wanted to see himself do is think that these rebels might be good people. These humans! The ones they say started the whole Rebellion, especially!

 

The indignant prisoner paced around his cell, desperate to get out. He needed to be able to leave somehow. This truly was the worst punishment: leaving Arinhansen alone with his thoughts.

 

He’d get out of here one day, and then he’d see again finally how humanity didn’t deserve any exceptions. Especially not that one Grump. He’d shoot him in the heart himself once he was free.

 

Though he forced the thought into his mind, Arinhansen couldn’t bring himself to visualize killing Danny. Something about that stupid, friendly spirit seemed invincible. Arinhansen hated it.


End file.
